Two Worlds, One Soul: Revised Editon
by Zoray Zorial
Summary: Exactly like it sounds. TWOS returns, revised and edited. A mishap with the Eternal Sword sends Lloyd and Co. to Earth. Unfortunately, getting home will be far more complicated. PS: No, I'm not dead, the sequel is coming...just slowly...
1. Beginnings

**Hello, once again.**

**Not so long ago, a great idea struck me. I was reading over this story, and I went "Hm. This is so full of errors and junk…I should really revise this." So, over the course of a week or so, I did just that. I'll be reposting one chapter the new, edited T.W.O.S. every Monday and Thursday until I've got the great, new version in your hands again. (So to speak) Much of the story will remain as it was; the majority of changes are either grammatical in nature or small things that help the flow of the story overall. **

**New readers, I hope you enjoy my story for the first time. Please, show your appreciation (or lack thereof, I love constructive criticism) with a review. To those who have experienced T.W.O.S. before, I encourage you to review all over again; things might be a bit different this time around.**

**Also to old readers of my stories, I will cover my progress on Darkness and Light in the ending Author's Notes.**

**Well, I do hope you enjoy the revised edition of Two Worlds, One Soul. **

**Standard Disclaimers Apply**

* * *

**Two Worlds, One Soul**

(Version 2.0)

_Chapter I - Beginnings_

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_Symphonia, near Iselia_

Lloyd was bored. It was an average day at his house, meaning there was absolutely nothing to do but get his butt kicked by Kratos in sword practice, something he had no intention of doing.

He finished sharpening his already razor-edged blades and began to apply a polishing cloth to the already gleaming steel. He looked across the yard for something, _anything_ to take his mind off the monotony.

Colette was throwing a dull chakram for Noishe, and Genis was absorbed in a new spellbook, muttering the ancient words under his breath as Raine looked on. Zelos had gone into town, undoubtedly in search of new 'hunnies'.

Sheena, disgusted with the behavior of the ex-Chosen, had gone deep into the woods to meditate. Regal was inside the house somewhere, doing god knows what. Dirk was hammering away at something or other in his forge, and Kratos was nowhere to be seen.

That was never a good sign.

A small breeze rippled across Lloyd's face. He knew where Kratos was.

Immediately throwing the cloth aside, he grasped the hilts of his swords and leapt up.

"Rising Falcon!" he cried, leaping into the air. He spun around rapidly in midair before rushing toward the angel lunging through the air toward the spot he had just vacated. He struck his father with the flats of his blades, finally taking the elder (ancient, as some might say) swordsman off guard.

"Good work, Lloyd." said Kratos.

"You gave yourself away, Dad. The 'wind under your wings', I think the saying goes."

Kratos barely hid his reaction to being called 'Dad'. Normally, that was reserved for Dirk. "I was testing you."

"Yeah, sure. All that matters was that I got you." Lloyd grinned broadly at his father as he sheathed his blades.

Kratos' small smile disappeared instantly. "No it is _not _all that matters. I could have counterattacked, and you lowered your guard as soon as you hit the ground. You still have a ways to go. Why don't you practice some more?"

Lloyd sighed. It seemed that every time he made any progress, Kratos only had reprimands for him.

"I'll work on it, Kratos. I promise." Lloyd's eyes were downcast, though, and Kratos felt a small stab of guilt.

"Good. I'm going out for a walk." With that, he opened his wings and flew off.

Lloyd harrumphed. "Huh. Some walk." He went back to his polishing.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

Kratos flew high above Iselia, letting the cool breeze wash over his body as he thought.

_I probably shouldn't be so harsh on him… _he mused_. I only want to help him…I don't know what else to do. He masters the techniques easily, but he's so reckless sometimes. It drives me insane. Doesn't he realize that that carelessness could get him killed? I couldn't take it if I lost him too. I'm such a hopeless father…_

He stared down beneath him and saw a speck of red sitting by the stream next to Dirk's house.

_Lloyd…_

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

Lloyd stared moodily into the stream from his precarious perch on a mossy rock. He cocked his arm back, and flung a stone into the burbling waters

_Kratos…Dad. Why are you never satisfied? What am I doing wrong? I just want to become a better swordsman. I suppose I'm just so much your inferior, having lived four thousand years less than you…_(sigh) _I…I'm sorry, Kratos…I know I don't always listen, I know you're just trying to help me to stay safe, to stay alive… Oh Martel, I'm such a hopeless son…_

Looking skyward, he spotted a glint of sapphire and violet against the wispy clouds.

_Dad…_

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

Later that evening, Lloyd was sitting on some rocks in his backyard with Kratos, Raine and Genis, waiting for dinner. Colette had volunteered to help Regal make it, and the smell wafting out of the house was making their mouths water. Raine had offered to help, but Genis wouldn't let her, older sister or not. Wisely done, his companions agreed.

Lloyd reached a hand out and grasped apparently at thin air, and made a motion like drawing a sword. Like the magic it was, the Eternal Sword appeared in his grasp. Raine nearly fell over in shock. Genis actually did.

"What th-" Genis stuttered, "where did that come from?"

"Indeed. One would think that you would refrain from calling upon that unless the situation was quite dire," said Kratos, his raised eyebrows the only thing giving away his surprise at the sudden reappearance of the worlds-saving artifact.

Raine was ecstatic. "Amazing! Now I can actually get a chance to study that, it's the most wondrous artifact I've ever seen, it holds so much power…" The Professor's eyes began to attain a slightly manic glow as her curiosity took hold.

Lloyd and Genis automatically tuned her out as she began to ramble on about the legends and powers of the Eternal Sword. Lloyd sighed. She had gone into Archeological Mania Mode; there was no stopping her now.

"To tell the truth, Kratos, I don't really know. I was just thinking about it, and all of a sudden, it just appeared!" Lloyd offered a sheepish grin, and Kratos' eyebrow traveled further up his forehead.

"Maybe it's responding to your will! You are the Master of the Pact, after all." suggested Genis, as Raine finally began to finish up her rant.

"That's cool. Maybe it can liven things up around here. It's so boring now that we don't have to go out and save a world or two!" he closed his eyes and assumed a look of concentration.

"Hey Lloyd, don't think too hard, you'll hurt yourself!" Said Genis, cracking up as he said it.

"Why you little-" shouted Lloyd, "I'm gonna kill you for that!" he raised the sword in mock fury and brought it down in a wickedly fast overhead slash that stopped a foot from the young half-elf's head. Genis fell off the log again.

"Lloyd, I would be very careful with that," said Kratos warningly, "We don't know the extent of its powers, or how to control them. You never know-"

There was a great flash of light, a loud crack, reality seemed to warp around them, and Symphonia faded away. It was replaced by something very different.

"-When something might happen…" he said, just before unconsciousness claimed them all.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_Earth, The USA, New York_

Aaron was sitting in his living room, having just defeated Mithos for the umpteenth time, when he heard a loud crack outside his house accompanied by a bright flash of white light.

"—When something might happen…" a voice that sounded oddly familiar said from his backyard.

Aaron rushed to his window…and ran back to his TV. Several times. There was no question.

Either these people were the greatest look-alikes in the history of mankind, or four of the characters from the greatest RPG ever made were lying facedown on his deck.

He whipped out his cell phone. There was a very important phone call he needed to make.

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_**Author's notes**_

**Well, I hope my edits were appreciated. I, personally, think the opening flows a bit better now. Hopefully, you will to. ****I encourage all readers, old and new, to leave even a small review: because reviews are like drugs, once you've had some, you can't get enough. **

**On the matter of my lack of anything for D&L, I'm trying. I really am. But alas, I've been crushed under the terrible burden of WB on that story and my spring of inspiration now resembles the Sahara. I'm reluctant to force myself to write, because it turns out an inferior product which I refuse to provide you with. ****So, as of now, the fourth re-write of Ch. I – Second Genesis, has the potential to be long in coming. But seeing as it's been nearly a year already, I would assume you already knew.**


	2. Introductions

**Hello and welcome to Chapter 2.2.0. (That'd be Chapter Two, Version 2)**

**To heck with the 'Monday and Thursday updates', I have it, so here it is.**

**Y'know****, I think that this is the first time my updates have ever been**** remotely on-****schedule. This is giving me a grand idea. ****I've been rewriting the first chapter of Darkness and Light ever since it was posted, and I think it's finally fixed. The fif****th revision**** was finished last night****, and should be processed for posting within a week**** or two****. After that, I'm considering writing two or three chapters at once, then adopting an update schedule so you're not wondering when the heck my next one's coming. We'll see. I'm starting to overcome my writer's block on D&L, but you never know. I'll see what I can do.**

**In the mean time****, here's the revised edition of Two Worlds, One Soul: Chapter II. Enjoy!**

**Standard Disclaimers Apply**

* * *

**Two Worlds, One Soul**

(Version 2.0)

_Chapter II - Introductions_

* * *

"You mean to tell me that you have the _real_ Tales characters unconscious on your deck?" The voice on Aaron's phone was incredulous. Said voice belonged to Kyle, Aaron's long-time best friend.

"You think I would lie to you?"

"You have a point there. I'll be right over." Kyle hung up.

Aaron hung up, and turned toward his window.

"Holy crap! What if someone sees them!" he quickly opened the door and dashed over to our heroes.

"They look exactly like they do in the game…Sweet! I wonder if their wings are really made of light or if they're feathers or something…" Aaron talked to himself as he slung Genis over his shoulder and dragged Lloyd along the floorboards by his white scarves.

He laid the two of them out on his couch and went back outside. As he was trying to figure out how to lift Kratos, (Who was far heavier than he looked) Kyle came flying up the driveway on his motorcycle, his red hair streaming out behind him.

"Hey Kyle! Give me a hand up here, Kratos is heavy!" Aaron yelled down to his best friend. Kyle took the deck stairs three at a time, then skidded to a halt when he saw whose weight Aaron was struggling to lift.

"Would you please pick up your jaw and then pick up Kratos? My legs are going to give out any second!"

"Oh right, sorry." The pair of them got under Kratos' arms and hoisted him into the house. "But seriously, how often do you get to meet the character from your favorite videogame live and in person?" He added, jokingly, "Even if they're unconscious."

Aaron stopped to think about that. How _had_ they gotten here? Was it a random galactic fluke, or had it been something else? "I'll bet that Lloyd was just screwing around with the Eternal Sword and just sent himself here by accident." He mused.

"Hah! What are the chances of that?" Kyle laughed, "I'm gonna go get Raine. You wake up the others." With that, Kyle headed back out to the deck.

Aaron wondered what the best way to wake them was. Not cold water, he didn't feel like cleaning the carpet, and they might be more than a little mad. Particularly Raine.

A light bulb went on above his head.

"Oh, sorry. Hit the switch by mistake," said Kyle, walking in with Raine held bridal-style in his arms.

"I'd be really careful, if I were you. If she were to wake up now…" as if he had cursed it by saying it aloud, Raine stirred and opened her eyes. With her blurred vision, she saw only Kyle's long red hair and one thing registered.

"ZELOS! Put me down, you filthy pervert!" There was a resounding smack, and Kyle reeled back against the wall, holding his face. Raine's scream had awakened the other three, and they sat up, rubbing their heads.

"Ooh, my aching head…" moaned Lloyd "What happened?"

"You happened, moron. Where the heck did you send us?" said Genis grumpily.

"Hell if I know." said Lloyd. He glanced around in confusion.

"Oh, I assure you, as many flaws as this world may have; it certainly _isn't_ any one of the nine levels." Aaron commented from behind him, a dryly amused tone in his voice.

Seeing Aaron for the first time, Lloyd exclaimed, "And just who the hell are you?"

A thought tempted Aaron. He couldn't resist. "Give me your name and I'll give you mine," he said, with more than a slight smirk on his face.

Kratos, finally awake, noticed something odd about Aaron's expression. He had an 'I know something you don't know' look about him. _This could be troublesome_, thought the Seraph.

"Hey, that's my line!" said Lloyd, annoyed.

"Oh, we know that." Added Kyle from the corner, as he tried to fend off a furious Raine.

"Cut it out, Raine. That's not Zelos." Aaron said angrily. The Symphonian Company reeled collectively.

"How do you know who Zelos is?" asked Lloyd.

"And more importantly, how do you know me?" said Raine, still yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Would you please calm down? I'll answer all of your questions, and you can probably answer a few of mine." Aaron began. "Now, please. Sit down."

Kratos, Raine, and Lloyd took seats on the couch. Genis sprawled out on the floor.

"All right, here we go. You are no longer on Sylvarant. You are not on Tethe'alla either, for that matter. Oh, I'm Aaron, By the way. The gentleman you so unkindly slapped, Professor, is my good friend Kyle." He made a slightly placating gesture towards the Professor.

"There's no need for introductions on your part, we both know all of you a lot better that you think. You…" he said, indicating Kratos "are a 4,000-plus year old angel named Kratos Aurion, former member of the Four Seraphim of Cruxis, an ancient hero of the Kharlan War, and just so happen to be that father of that young man in red over there."

Kratos' face drained of all color. "How in hell do you know that?"

Aaron sighed. "Didn't I tell you that I would be getting to that? At any rate, aforementioned young man in red over there is Lloyd Irving, son of Kratos and Anna Aurion, the Eternal Swordsman, and current Master of the Pact with Origin. You-"

He motioned to Genis "are Genis Sage, younger brother to Professor Raine over there, both of you are half-elves, kicked out of Heimdall and banished to Sylvarant… Kyle, do me a favor and keep her where I can see her, I don't want her dismantling my house."

"Heh. That's the Professor all right," said Lloyd, apparently not caring that this man knew so many things about him. Raine smacked him.

"Now, to explain how I, or rather, we know so much about you guys. Not just you five either…we both know lots about Colette, Regal, Sheena, Presea, Zelos, Mithos, Yuan, Botta, et cetera et cetera. We know about the Eternal Sword, the World Regeneration, Yggdrasil, Martel, Derris-Kharlan, the seals, the Summon Spirits, Exspheres, Cruxis Crystals, and the Great Seed too." Added Kyle, having finally convinced Raine he was not doing was she initially thought he was. "We know about you and your worlds because people in ours created you."

"You're lying." said Lloyd flatly.

"Your people certainly have a high opinion of themselves." Kratos said coldly.

"Who do you think you are, anyways?" objected Genis.

"It's simply impossible." Said Raine indignantly, "We all know that the world was created by the combined power of the Summ…"

"Raine…Shut up." Aaron said. "I have told you, I'm going to explain everything." He dodged Raine's flying slap and got her in a headlock.

"Kyle, would you kindly hit the power button on my Gamecube? The ToS disc is already in."

"Sure, buddy." Carefully skirting the struggling but immobile Raine, he pressed the button. As the opening movie started, the company's eyes go wider and wider.

"That's…that's…can it be possible?"

"What the hell…"

"Interesting…very interesting…"

"Cooooooooooool!" Raine smacked Lloyd with her free leg.

Kyle spoke up. "Look. This is a computer-generated game. Created and programmed by people in our world. Either we somehow miraculously created this thing precisely to the standards of some real alternate universe…"

"You know, Kyle, that's actually not to hard to believe. You ever read Inkheart?"

Kyle began to protest. "Yeah, but what does that have to do with-"

Aaron cut him off. "Fenoglio said that the world he created in his novel had already existed, he just catalogued a section of it in his book."

Genis got it first. "So, you people made the, um, "video game" and it just correlates to a section of our history?"

"I suppose that's the best way to put it. It seems that we didn't create you. Sorry if I sounded arrogant or anything." Said Kyle.

"You are forgiven. I see how you might think that. This is very true to reality." Kratos said.

"Thank you." Said Kyle. "Now, I've got one question. How the heck did you guys get here?"

"Well, uh…I sorta…um, what I mean is…" stammered a very flustered Lloyd.

Aaron sighed. "Let me guess." He said "You, Lloyd, got bored with the monotony of a saved world, and decided to use the Eternal Sword to create some excitement, and accidentally brought yourself and your friends to our world. How, you're not quite sure, but it's happened nonetheless."

"Got it in one." Said Genis, casting a sidelong glare at the twinblader. Lloyd grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

"Hey…where's the Professor?" asked Lloyd.

Aaron blanched. "Raine…loose…in our dimension…in my house…" he whipped around to face the Symphonians. "Quick, find her! Before she finds anything!" Lloyd and Genis stared back, blank expressions on their faces. Comprehending him, Kratos rushed off. Knowing Raine, she would love to dismantle anything of this world's technology she could get her hands on.

Suddenly, Aaron heard what could possibly be the worst thing in the world.

"Oh! Amazing! I must see how this works!"

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**Author's notes**

**Well, whaddya think? Please let me know!**


	3. Discoveries

**Hey again!**

**As I've said on my profile…If I have the chapter, I'll post it, regardless of the update schedule. Thus, I present Chapter Three! **

**For those of you who have been waiting with the patience of the Buddha for me to update D&L, the Revised Version of Ch. 1 is now up and available. Apparently, it doesn't put 'replaced chapters' on the front screen like it does with normal updates. So if you're interested, it's up. Use my profile to get to it, that's probably the fastest way.**

**Enjoy them both!**

**Standard Disclaimers Apply**

* * *

**Two Worlds, One Soul**

(Version 2.0)

_Chapter III __–__ Discoveries_

* * *

Aaron and Kratos dashed into the kitchen to find Raine tugging frantically at the light switch. 

"Aah! Raine! Get away from there!" yelled Aaron.

"But…but…IT'S SO FASCINATING!" she yelled, flicking the switch on and off like the madwoman she was, dazzling Kratos with the strobe-like effect. "How does it work?!" Kratos, whose angelic vision nearly sent him into a seizure, leaned against the table to recover as Kyle aided Aaron in hauling Raine bodily away from the wall. Between the two of them, the managed to force her into a chair as Genis and Lloyd entered the room.

"I can see only one solution to our 'Raine's insatiable curiosity' problem." Said Kyle, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked Aaron with a mischievous look in his eye.

"I read you loud and clear, my friend." Replied Aaron, who nodded sagely and went to get his duct tape.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

Approximately three and a half minutes later, Raine was securely bound to one of Aaron's kitchen chairs.

"Not quite what I meant…but it works." said Kyle, chuckling.

Lloyd was about to put a gag over Raine's mouth, but Kyle stopped him.

"We can put up with her mouth. We don't need to cause her any unnecessary humiliation."

Lloyd cocked his head and opened his mouth, but closed it and just shrugged. "Seems pretty necessary to me…" he muttered.

"Raine… please just calm down. Although this may seem drastic measures, I just want to keep my house and its technology intact. You wanted to know how the lights work…"

The Terrans spent nearly the next half-hour explaining the basic workings of nearly every single object that Raine could find. (They released Raine from the chair on a promise not to dismantle anything) Eventually, she ran out of objects, and the group got back to their discussion.

"I'm impressed the level of your technology without using a bit of magitecnology…"commented Genis.

"Although some parts are very similar…" continued Raine, "I noted you never mentioned Teleporters. I take it you haven't created functional one yet?"

"That's right. The one we have can only move atoms. Kinda like how, as far as I'm aware, you don't know anything about actual space travel…" said Kyle.

"Each side has their own advantages," mused Kratos.

"You know…as interesting as our world may be, I'm sure you guys would love to go home…" said Aaron.

The company murmured its assent.

"So, Lloyd, why don't you fire up the Eternal Sword and take them home?" said Kyle.

"All righty then! Here goes…" he squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated. Five minutes passed.

"Any day now would be fine, Lloyd." Said Genis.

"Hey, shut up! Would YOU like to do this?" growled Lloyd.

"Point taken," Genis made a placating gesture, and Lloyd resumed his attempts.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

After ten more minutes (and an expression of concentration so fierce they were worried he was becoming constipated), Lloyd gave up. "I don't get it. I'm visualizing the Sword appearing in my hands like I did last time, but nothing's happening…"

"Perhaps it could be the fact that there is a dimensional barrier between you and Origin, and his power cannot reach you to activate the Sword?" suggested Kyle.

Aaron and Kratos nodded their agreement.

"In that case…I guess we're stuck here until the others notice we're gone and come to rescue us…" said Genis.

"Wonderful! The perfect opportunity to study this world's technology!" cried Raine.

"Wonderful! The perfect chance to play a videogame starring myself!" cried Lloyd._ Smack. _"Ow! What was that for?"

Aaron sighed. _Wonderful_. This was just getting better all the time…

**XXXxxx.xxxXxx.xxxXXX**

_Symphonia_

"Alright, everyone! Dinner's ready!" Colette called. No one answered, not even with angelic hearing could she hear a response. "Weird… where could they be?" She looked out into the yard, but there was no one.

"Regal? Dirk? Do you know where Lloyd and the others are?"

"I cannot say that I do. I had thought they were outside." Came Regal's voice from the kitchen.

"Nope, I dunno where any of 'em are. I've been at me forge all day." Dirk's voice said, from his forge. Real surprise there.

"Oh well. I'll just go and look for them myself!" Colette said in her eternally cheerful tone. She headed off into the woods to look for Lloyd and the others.

In hindsight, this was a very bad idea.

**XXXxxx.xxxXxx.xxxXXX**

_Hours later_

"Where could they have gone?" said a mystified (and completely lost) Colette. "LLOYD! LLOOOOOOOOOYD!" she cried into the night air, "WHERE ARE YOU?"

Silence.

"CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?"

A cricket chirped in the bush, an indecipherable comment to her plight.

"WHERE AM I?"

The forest offered no consolation, soundless in the twilight.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

Sheena snapped out of her reverie with a start. Grumbling to herself, she picked up her guardian cards and glared up at the emerging stars, as if it was somehow their fault she had been disturbed. With a final muttering and a harrumph for good measure, she vanished in a puff of ninja-smoke to see what Colette was screaming about this time.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

Zelos was walking up the trail to Dirk's house, whistling a happy tune. His head jerked up and he fell silent when Colette's cry pierced the air.

"Ah! One of my super-gorgeous hunnies is in danger! I must go and save her!" With that, he drew his sword and ran triple-time into the forest, following the sound.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

Presea grunted and swung her axe. It bit deep into the oak, cleaving all the way through in one blow.

"Timber." She murmured, as the tree fell with a deafening crack. As she began to drag it back to the house one-handed, she heard Colette's shout.

"A friend is endangered. I will go and assist." Dropping her burden, she took off to help.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

As Colette wearily prepared to make another attempt to locate Lloyd and the others, Sheena appeared in a cloud of ninja-smoke.

"All right, what's happened?" She asked, still mildly annoyed for the interruption of her meditation.

"Well you see…" Colette began, when suddenly a cry rang out from the surrounding trees.

"Don't worry, I'm coming! The great Zelos Wilder will save you!" the idiot ex-Chosen charged out of the forest and, upon seeing that there was no danger, attempted to stop.

His efforts only worsened the situation, though, because in his haste he tripped over a root and ran right into Sheena. The two of them collapsed and rolled, eventually coming to rest with Sheena sprawled out across Zelos' chest.

"You know, Sheena…if you wanted me like this before…all you had to do was ask…" said Zelos with a glint in his eyes and a perverted grin on his face.

Sheena was a little dazed from impact still and didn't respond. Zelos took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her, and the result was electric.

"Zelos…" Sheena said with deceptive mildness, "Is that your hand on my butt?"

Zelos, seeing the fire in her eyes, realized his danger and attempted to flee, but it was far too late. Sheena's arm blurred and multiple smacking sounds echoed in the clearing. Let's just say that, as the ex-Chosen slumped to the ground, his face now blended perfectly with his hair.

"Ooh, that's has to hurt." Said Colette. "Are you all right, Zelos?"

"My face…my beautiful face…" moaned the semiconscious ex-Chosen

"Stupid pervert had it coming." Growled Sheena.

"Hey, that's a bit harsh…" objected Zelos, as he got to his feet again.

"You deserved it!" said Sheena, growling louder. She took a step forward, grasped Zelos by the shoulder, and shook him hard.

At that precise moment, Presea entered the clearing. She looked at Zelos, then at Sheena, and a small smile made its way onto her face. Sheena noticed her expression and immediately her anger turned to horror.

"I swear, this is NOT what it looks like, I just…I mean, Zelos, he…" she stammered.

Zelos burst out laughing. "Denial is always the first step, hunny."

_Smack._ "NEVER call me that again!" said Sheena, still raging.

"If I could continue…" Colette said quietly.

"Of course. I'm sorry. Something about Lloyd…"

"Ooh! Did he ask you to go out with him?" One guess who that was.

_Smack_. One guess who _that_ was.

Colette turned bright red, but continued on. "Lloyd, Kratos, Genis, and the Professor have vanished!"

"Huh? Vanished? Where did they go?" asked Zelos.

"That's gotta be the dumbest question I've ever heard! If she knew that, would she be running around in the middle of the woods looking for them?" replied Sheena testily.

"They were outside, waiting for dinner when I last saw them. Then when I went to get them, they had disappeared!" Colette added.

"Maybe Raine took 'em off on a 'field trip'?" suggested Zelos.

"Nah, Colette would have heard Lloyd arguing with her. Besides, she would have dragged the rest of us off too." Said Sheena.

"Maybe they were kidnapped!" said Zelos.

"Odds of them being defeated in combat and taken prisoner outside an occupied house that contains one with angelic hearing are slightly more than one googol to one." said Presea.

"Sounds pretty convincing when you out it that way…" said Zelos. Privately, he thought, _What the hell's a googol?_

"Why don't we just go back home tonight and go talk to Grandpa or Orochi in Mizuho tomorrow? The network is pretty knowledgeable. If anything drastic happened, they'll know about it." Suggested Sheena.

"Search without proper rest is a waste of energy and will accomplish nothing. Let us begin tomorrow." Said Presea.

"But before we do, how 'bout some dinner? I'm starvin' over here!" complained Zelos.

As the group headed back to Dirk's house for dinner, they were completely oblivious to a lone man on a Rheaird high above them. The silhouette was barely visible against the darkening sky. The figure upon the Rheaird adopted a thinking pose, pondering the words of the people below.

"Disappeared without a trace, hmm? This could be worth investigating…and would provide the ideal opportunity…yes. They'll be perfect." The Rheaird's Mana-exhaust flared brighter as the figure flew away, just barely illuminating the small smirk on his face

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**Well, I hope you enjoyed Chapter Three of TWOS:RE. Please, remember to leave a review!**


	4. Searchings

**Hello again.**

**Yeah, I know. The chapter's late. I've had some serious shortages of time lately, what with a new job, a swim camp, and other such responsibilities to take time away from Fanfiction. Besides, this would have been up a week ago if editor hadn't made me re-make my final edits twenty-six times in a row...Well, once again, I apologize, here's Chapter Four!**

**Standard Disclaimers Apply  
**

* * *

**Two Worlds, One Soul**

(Version 2.0)

_Chapter IV - __Searchings_

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_Symphonia_

Colette rose bright and early to begin the hunt for the lost friends. Of course, since she lacked the need for sleep, her 'too-damn-cheerful-for-the-hour' voice shattered the early morning peace of Dirk's woodland home at approximately three o'clock in the morning.

"Come on everyone! Up and at 'em! We gotta go look for Lloyd!"

As the company slowly staggered into the room, Colette got even more excited.

"Wow, you guys were up all night too?" she asked wonderingly.

"How could we sleep when you were talking in your sleep so loudly?" complained a very grumpy Sheena.

"I talk in my sleep?" asked the ex-Chosen of Sylvarant, curiosity sparkling in her eyes, "Neat! What was I saying?"

"Oh Lloyd! Lloyd! Where are you? Why have you left me? Lloyd! Oh please, Lloyd, come back to me!" said Zelos in a surprisingly good imitation of Colette's voice.

Colette stood stock-still, fervently praying she could slip between the cracks in the floor. Her face flaming red, she tried to stammer out a response "Umm…uh, you see, I …Ummm" she was saved when Presea entered the house.

"Did I miss something?" she asked. The ax-wielder had made an early morning trip to retrieve the fallen tree she'd left in the forest the night before.

"NO! Um, nothing at all…" Colette said, rather quickly.

"It's kinda suspicious when she denies it so loudly…" said Zelos with an evil grin on his face. Sheena glared daggers (Kunai?) at him, and the redhead even had the grace to look abashed. If only until Sheena looked away.

Regal cleared his throat. "Why don't we just begin our journey to Mizuho now? By the time we get there, it will be light enough."

"Good point" said Sheena, "I'll just go now and let them know what we're looking for."

"Wouldn't it be rude to drop in on them at three AM?" asked Colette.

"Isn't it rude to wake _us_ up at three AM?" grumbled Zelos, under his breath.

"Nah, shinobi come into the village at all hours to report information, and besides, even the regular villagers are up unreasonably early to begin with,"

"Ah, all right. We will join you later." Said Presea. Sheena disappeared in a puff of ninja-smoke.

"Shall I prepare breakfast?" asked Regal, as the smoke cleared. He reached around behind him and produced an apron and chef hat.

"Sure thing, dude. I'm starving!" said Zelos.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_A Short Time Later_

The gang sat around at the table enjoying Regal's shortcake and discussing possibilities of their companion's disappearance.

"Well, we've already ruled out kidnapping," said Colette, her normally chipper disposition only slightly subdued.

"As well as a sudden, involuntary field-trip," said Presea.

"Perhaps they went on some sort of adventure without us?" suggested Regal.

"Pretty unlikely, but we can't say for sure until we talk to Orochi." Said Zelos.

"Speaking of that, shouldn't we be going?" asked Colette.

"Yeah, let's go." Said Zelos, "To the Rheairds!" They boarded the jet-bikes and ascended into the crisp morning sky.

"Let the Great Lloyd Hunt begin!" yelled Colette happily. The group guided the Rheairds into an upwards spiral, gaining altitude as they oriented themselves toward their destination.

"The great _Lloyd_ hunt? Aren't Kratos, Genis, and the Professor missing too? Or don't they count?" asked Zelos. Simultaneously, the group gunned their machines. Mulitcolored flames erupted from the mana emitters and they accelerated off into the dawn.

"Umm…Of course they do… I just… ummm," mumbled Colette.

"Leave it be, Zelos," said Regal, annoyed at the ex-Chosen's constant teasing.

"Ok, ok, fine!" said Zelos.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_Mizuho, ten minutes later_

The group descended and landed in the center of the town. Being true to his nature, (And subsequently ignoring that of the residents) within five minutes of landing Zelos had become..._distracted_ by the first kunoichi they came across. Regal was soon forced to wrap the chain of his shackles around the ex-Chosen's neck and drag him off.

Sheena waved a hand in greeting from where she leaned against the wall of the Chief's home. "I've got good news and bad news." She said. "Come on inside." The group entered the house through the secret spinning wall, just because they could. When they were seated, Sheena began.

"Alright, here's what I know. The good news is we know for sure that they have not been kidnapped or killed. None of the bandit groups of thief gangs we know of have even been remotely near Iselia lately."

"And the bad news is…" said Presea.

"We can't find them anywhere. Not a trace of them. It's like they disappeared off the face of Symponia." Said Sheena glumly.

"Wait a minute! Don't you have guardian tracers on all of us just in case this sort of thing happens?" asked Colette anxiously.

"We do, but the signal isn't strong enough to detect, wherever it's coming from."

"I may have a solution to that." Said a new voice. They all jumped in surprise as they whirled to face…

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_Eart__h, Aaron's House_

Kratos woke first, his angelic traits forbidding him much sleep. Bleary-eyed and poorly rested, he stumbled into the kitchen to find something to eat. On the table was a loaf of bread, containers of butter and jam, and instructions on how to use the toaster.

"Might as well…" He grumbled sleepily. He followed the directions, then sat down and waited.

Ten minutes later, Kratos' toast had yet to rise from the toaster. "Perhaps it just needs a little longer. I can wait." And so he did.

After fifteen minutes passed, just as Aaron was just walking into the room, Kratos finally snapped. "WHERE IS MY TOAST, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF METAL!" he raged, grasping the toaster and shaking it violently until the toaster mechanism sprung, sending the bread into Kratos' face.

"Take this! HELL PYRE!" He jumped up and blasted toast and toaster alike with a fireball. Aaron yelped and ran to put out his smoldering tablecloth as Kratos snatched up the lump of charcoal that had been his bread.

"At last." He said, sitting down and munching on the blackened crust, "My toast is done."

Aaron sighed. This was going to be a long day, he could tell already. He looked over at the toasted toaster. "Well, here's your problem," he said, plugging it in.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_Symphoni__a, Mizuho_

…Botta.

The company stared at him with varying degrees of surprise, from Presea's raised eyebrow to Colette's shout of near-terror.

"Hey, aren't you dead?" said Zelos.

"Umm, no, not really." Said a confused Botta.

"But you were locked in that dome in Rodyle's base and it was flooding and…HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?" shouted Colette, getting more and more frantic with each syllable. Finally, she couldn't hold herself back, and ran over to engulf the Renegade in a giant hug. "Oh I was so sad when I thought you died, it was so noble…" she said into his shoulder

"Oh, it was soooooo noble…" mocked Zelos in a singsong voice. Sheena glared at him, and he slowly trailed off with a nervous expression on his face.

"If you will please get off of me," said a flustered Botta, "I can offer a solution to your problem. Or the road to one, at least,"

"Really? And how will you do that?" asked a skeptical Sheena.

"Come with me to the Renegade Base, and I'll show you," He said.

And with that, they took off to what might be their only hope of ever finding their friends.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_Earth__, Aaron's House _

Later that morning, Kyle was showing Lloyd and Genis Tales of Symphonia. They loaded the game disc and started it up, but immediately noticed something was wrong.

"Hey! Where are we?" said Genis. The little half-elf's words were true. Lloyd, Genis, Kratos, and Raine were missing from the game.

"Hmm, now that's odd… Hey! Aaron! Come see this!" Kyle yelled up the stairs.

Aaron poked his head around the corner. He appeared to be struggling with something. "Kinda busy right now, can I come later?" he said, grunting with the exertion of his burden, whatever it was.

"It's important. Get over here!" said Lloyd. "And what the heck are you doing, anyways?"

"Raine," came the reply, "Is obsessing over my iPod and will undoubtedly dissect it if I let her go."

"Oh." Said Lloyd, privately wondering what an "iPod" was. And so, with some assistance from Kratos (who had recovered from his encounter with "The Toaster from Hell") Aaron dragged Raine into the den to see what was so important.

"Hey! Where did these guys go?" he exclaimed, indicating the people around him.

"They probably disappeared from the game when they came here, and-" Kyle stopped and stared at the TV "Now this is interesting…" they gathered around the screen as a scene definitely not originally programmed into the game unfolded…

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_Symphonia, the Renegade Base_

The companions and Botta landed and entered the base. As they walked to the control room, Colette spoke up, curiosity overwhelming her.

"Botta…How come you aren't dead?" she asked again.

"Yuan teleported me and my team out almost immediately after I sealed the dome." The Renegade stated simply.

"But he told us you were dead!" exclaimed Sheena.

"I'm sure he had his reasons." replied Botta. "At any rate, you could ask him yourself now." They came to the Control Room door, and Botta walked right into it.

"Ow! What's going on? That's supposed to open automatically!"

"Perhaps the door is locked?" said Presea.

"Right, of course. I forgot...there's a new passcode." Said Botta. He took a little metal plate from his pocket and slipped it into a slot in the wall.

"CARD ACCEPTED. STATE THE PASSCODE." said a computerized voice that sounded vaguely familiar.

"Oh, stop playing games, Yuan. You know it's me." Said Botta

"YOU COULD BE ANYONE. THE PASSCODE, PLEASE."

"Fine." He cleared his throat, "Yuan is the most powerful, handsome and the all-around coolest dude on the planet."

The companions all sweatdropped.

Botta glanced back at the companions. "Sorry you had to hear that." He whispered.

"I HEARD THAT." Said Yuan.

Nevertheless, the door slid open.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_Earth__, Aaron's House_

"Botta was right…I definitely didn't need to hear that." Said Aaron and Kyle together.

"Can't argue with you there." Said Raine.

"I think he's gone senile in his old age." Said Kratos, deadpan.

There was dead silence in the room.

"Did Kratos do what I think he just did?" asked Genis incredulously.

"Yep. I think Kratos just told a joke." Said Kyle.

"Kratos? A _joke_? AAAAUGH! IT'S A SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE!" yelled Lloyd.

Kratos just chuckled and gently cuffed his son. "You stopped the apocalypse, remember?"

"Speaking of death, doom, and the end of everything," said Kyle, "When are your parents coming home? It could be trouble if they saw all of them here."

"Well," said Aaron, looking at the Symphonians, "You guys picked the best possible time to get sucked into our dimension. This happens to be the first week of summer break, so I won't have to go to school for another three months and--"

Lloyd immediately turned on Raine, "Hey, Professor! Why didn't we get our break this year?"

Raine rolled her eyes at Lloyd and sighed. "We were carrying out the Regeneration Journey at the time."

"Well, at least that way you missed the big summer projects we have to do for our classes." Said Kyle.

Lloyd's eyes fell. "Ouch. That sounds painful." He said simply. Raine's eyes lit up, and the red clad youth cringed at the sight.

"And also," said Aaron, picking up where he left off, "My parents are off on a transatlantic cruise and won't be back for two weeks."

"What's a 'transatlantic cruise'?" asked Raine, intrigued.

"It's a very long journey on a giant boat across one of the planet's major oceans." Said Kyle. Raine blanched at the thought of it. "And people do this willingly?" she said, both horrified and fascinated.

"Yeah. To most people, it's a great vacation!" said Kyle

"At any rate, if you guys are going to be here for any length of time, you are going to have to get some normal Earth clothes on." Said Aaron.

"Why is my clothing unacceptable?" asked Kratos. He _liked_ his purple pants.

"You guys stuck out even back in your own world," Said Aaron, "And here, we don't wear anything like what you have. As you can see," he said, indicating himself and Kyle, "You would stick out like a sore thumb."

"Not to mention the fact that you would suffer one of the most horrible experiences on the planet." Said Kyle ominously.

"Oh no, don't tell me that there's even worse discrimination against Half-Elves here than in Sylvarant and Tethe'alla!" exclaimed Raine.

"Oh, no. It's far, far worse than _that_." Said Kyle, a devilish grin spreading across his face.

"What could possibly be worse?" said Genis fearfully.

Aaron and Kyle looked at each other, and then spoke with one voice the most dreaded word to all videogame and anime characters alike.

"Fangirls."

* * *

**Well, that's that. I'll have the next one soon. **

**  
By the way, has anyone noticed the new addition to Darkness and Light?  
**


	5. Reunions

**I've took a look at my stories a couple days ago, and it stuck me. My muse, at long last, had returned! After looking over the end of Two Worlds, One Soul, I came over and checked out the Revised Version. Re-reading the bad ending, with all its spelling errors and holes in the plot, has inspired to get my arse in gear and revise that far too. So I went to look at Reunion v1, and lo and behold, it's already corrected! **** I was so embarrassed, ****it must have slipped my mind completely. Well, I'm working on chapter six right now, so here's five before I forget it again!  
**

* * *

**Two Worlds****, One Soul**

(Version 2.0)

_Chapter V – Reunion_

_Earth, Aaron's house_

"So, what the heck is a fangirl?" asked Lloyd, quizzically scratching his head.

"A fangirl or fanboy is one who is afflicted with an uncontrollable obsession with a character from a videogame or anime, and has taken this obsession to an unbelievable level." Said Aaron. He turned slowly, making eye contact individually to impress upon them the importance of the information "Basically, they're an even more clingy version of one of Zelos' floozies. If one of them catches sight of any of you, you will be mobbed, poked, and glomped with unbelievable ferocity." He concluded.

"Glomped?" asked Kratos. Although the word was unfamiliar, the angel felt a small ripple of fear at its mentioning.

"Allow me to demonstrate the typical fangirl reaction." Said Kyle, as a surprisingly sinister grin made its way onto his face. The ripple Kratos felt increased immediately in intensity.

"Brace for impact!" Yelled Aaron, as Kyle launched himself at Kratos. Before the seraphim could even twitch, Kyle glomped him with a loud yell of "_Kratty-sama_!"

The entire company sweatdropped, then burst out laughing as Kyle let go of a very flustered Kratos.

"Oh man, Dad, you should see your face!" laughed Lloyd, holding his sides and shaking uncontrollably.

"I have never experienced something so horrible." Stated Kratos. It was all he could do to repress a shudder.

"And what's worse is there's always going to be at least six of them, they seem to travel in packs." Said Aaron. He slapped the Seraphim on the back amiably as he (Kratos) attempted to regain his shattered composure.

"And once one knows, they all seem to know, and they show up in a never-ending stream." Finished Kyle. He mouthed 'Sorry' to Kratos, and offered an apologetic shrug.

"Oh Martel, that sounds horrible!" exclaimed Raine. _And yet…_ she thought, _extremely fascinating__ at the same time_

"And that's why you need some of our clothes."

"You expect me to wear your clothes?" said the Professor, aghast at the very idea.

"Don't be ridiculous. You can borrow my sister's." said Aaron, rolling his eyes.

"Hey everybody! Look at this!" said Lloyd from in front of the TV. The companions gathered to watch another insight at the world of Symphonia.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_Symphonia, Renegade Base_

The companions entered Yuan's office to see the blue-haired man making adjustments to a very strange device. A silver pedestal rose up from the floor in the center of the room, standing about three feet high. Three sweeping gold protrusions from the top of the machine held a perfectly round crystal that shimmered with a rainbow of colors. Yuan was tapping buttons and twisting a series of brass dials around the top of the pedestal.

"Sir, Botta reporting for duty." Said Botta with a salute.

"At ease, Botta." Said Yuan without looking up. The second-in-command immediately relaxed. "Thank you for bringing them here."

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Yuan, but what is that?" said Colette.

"This is the Mana Tracker." Explained the seraph, "Essentially, if I give it a mana signature, it can locate and trace the movements of the target. I initially developed it for the purpose of monitoring the movements of Cruxis when I couldn't be there myself, but it should easily serve our current purpose. That purpose being the location and retrieval of your lost companions.

"Hey! How did you know they were missing?" exclaimed Sheena.

"I was out on a survey of the continent on my Rheaird and just happened to overhear your conversation last night." Said Yuan, the hint of a smirk tilting the corner of his mouth.

"Just happened to…ah, never mind. How can it find them?" asked Sheena.

"Yes, please clarify for us. I cannot discern its workings." Said Presea.

"Well then, allow me to demonstrate. Lights, please." Said Yuan. He made a cutting motion with his forefinger, and the lights faded to a dull glow. After tapping a final button on the machine, the orb began to glow. Slowly, the glow strengthened in intensity to the point where the globe itself was hard to look at. Abruptly, the orb pulsed once, then twice. The blinding glare faded, and hovering just above the tips of the supporting gold arms was a model of Sympohonia. About five feet in diameter, the image slowly rotated, affording those assembled with a view of the entire planet. Towns and cities were plainly visible, but no indicators of any kind appeared. As far as the Tracker could detect, the missing Lloyd and co. had left the planet completely.

"That's odd…" muttered the Renegade leader. He adjusted the dials again. Sheena looked concerned.

"What seems to be the problem?" she asked, bending closer to the globe, "Why can't it detect them?"

Yuan's face creased slightly into a frown. "It isn't that the Mana Tracker isn't detecting them, per se…"

"The issue seems to be that there is nothing there to detect." finished Regal. He narrowed his eyes. "Is that not the case?" Colette shifted uncomfortably, her eyes reflecting the worry in everyone's minds.

"Well, what else can this look at?" Sheena rubbed her chin in thought, "If not Symphonia, then where could they have gone?"

"I'll try Derris-Kharlan." Yuan pressed another button, and the image of Symphonia shrunk, as if suddenly becoming farther away. A smaller orb appeared near Symphonia, purple-blue in color and encrusted with the silver of cities. Once again, no indicators lit up the surface of the planetoid.

"Bummer…they're not there either!" moaned Zelos, "Just where the hell did they wander off to?"

Suddenly, Presea spoke up. "There. Look." She pointed at a space that appeared to be empty of anything.

"Don't wanna burst your bubble, hon, but there's nothin' there." Zelos said lightly.

"Examine it closer. Visibility is low, but I perceive an irregularity." Presea stated, indicating the region again. Staring hard at the spot, the company attempted to discern anything at all.

"Hey wait…I _do_ see something!" exclaimed Sheena. And she was right. Shimmering just slightly before Presea's indicating hand was a faint trail of silver light.

"It's a…trail?" said Zelos, raising an eyebrow. He cocked his head, trying to get a better view. It pulsed, then became outlined in golden light. A computerized voice spoke into the room.

"Scanning complete. Mana signature detected and identified. Source identified as the energies of the Eternal Sword."

"Of course!" muttered Yuan. "Trace the signature! Where does that trail go?" Somewhere, a computer blipped and whirred, working. Abruptly, the two planets zoomed out even further, until Symphonia and Derris-Kharlan became tiny blue-green and purple orbs respectively. Joining them were thousands more marble-sized spheres, representing the entire spectrum of colors. Illuminated brightly in gold, the trail of mana from the Eternal Sword led straight to a sapphire-and-emerald orb hovering right in front of Colette's nose. The planet enlarged, growing until the image was focused on one continent, then a particular town. There, glowing cheerfully in the dim room, were four icons named _Lloyd__ Irving_, _Genis__ Sage_, _Raine__ Sage_ and _Kratos__ Aurion_.

The company let out a cheer. They had finally located their lost friends. "This planet is called 'Earth'," said Yuan. "I don't know anything about it, I doubt anyone does, but that is where you will find them."

"Well, that's just great, Yuan," commented Zelos dryly, "But in case you didn't notice, that planet is _freakin__' far away_! The Rheairds couldn't get us halfway there!"

"If only Lloyd were here, he could to take us there with the Eternal Sword…" said Colette. She pressed her hands together and bounced them a few times, as if to shake off frustration.

"Why don't we just get Origin to take us there himself? He is bound, at least in part, to Sheena." suggested Regal.

"Ah! Why didn't I think of that?" Sheena smacked her forehead, and then assumed a summoning trance. "I call upon the source of Heaven and Earth and everything in between! The Ruler of All, I summon thee! Come, Origin!" Origin appeared and settled to the floor before Sheena.

_What is it you require of me?_

"I wish to find our friends! Gatherest thy power and reunite us with our lost comrades!"

_As you wish._

They disappeared in a flash of white light. When Botta recovered his vision, he realized that Yuan was gone too.

As the companions, plus Yuan, soared through time and space, we now rejoin our heroes on earth…

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_Earth, Aaron's Living Room_

"Uh, oh…now the rest of them are going to be coming here…" said Aaron. He rested his head in one hand and sighed.

"Brace for impact." said Kratos. It was in vain.

FLASH! CRASH!

"Ouch! _Gerroff_!"

"Hey, watch it!"

"AH! You pervert, get your hand _off _of there!"

Needless to say, the room was total chaos. When the dust finally cleared, the entire company was finally reunited, although not quite the way they intended. Zelos and Sheena were sprawled across the couch. And from Sheena's yell, Zelos was doing something perverted. Yuan had landed squarely on top of Kratos, eliciting a grunt from the normally stoic seraphim.

Raine and Genis were in a heap along with Regal and Presea, and Genis was blushing to the roots of his silver hair. This was partially because Presea had ended up almost completely on top of him, but more likely that the weight of Regal's legs was squeezing the blood from his lower body.

Origin had completely floored Aaron and Kyle, who were struggling to disentangle themselves from his four arms. Colette seemed to be the only one who came out standing, but she amended that by throwing herself into the arms of a very embarrassed Lloyd.

Lloyd thanked Martel that Zelos hadn't seen, but he was busy nursing two black eyes and bruised ego, so no harm done. To Lloyd, anyways. It took ten minutes to untangle the mess and put the living room back into some semblance of order.

"Well. That was…interesting, to say the least." commented Aaron. He dusted himself off and took a look at his new 'guests'.

"I'll say." Agreed Kyle, "Why don't we get this thing going, it's gonna take forever anyways,"

"Amen to that, brother," said Aaron mournfully. "All right, here goes."

"Who the heck are you? And where the heck are we?" asked Sheena.

"Shall I spare them and just say it all at once?" asked Aaron.

"That would be for the best." Said Kratos.

"To answer you question, Sheena, I am Aaron and this is Kyle. You, along with Presea, Zelos, Colette, Regal, and… surprisingly, though not unexpectedly, Yuan, have landed yourself on Earth, by means of Origin over there."

The new arrivals stared at him like he had just grown three extra heads. In the background, Genis whispered to Lloyd, "3…2…1…"

Each of the second half of the group immediately began to shout in varying degrees of shock, yelling and questioning for several minutes until finally…

"Everybody, just _shut up_!" screamed Raine. The world had never seemed so quiet.

"Heh heh, good old Professor…" chuckled Lloyd. Raine cuffed him on the back of the head.

"Everyone just settle down. That will be the simplest way we can get things sorted out. You all have been brought here to Earth in what I can only assume as an attempt to rescue us, am I right?" asked Raine. The Professor paced back and forth in front of the television, all newly arrived eyes glued to her.

"Correct," said Regal, nodding assent. Colette nodded somewhat more vigorously.

"Now, here in this world we have already existed for about five years, approximately?" she continued, glancing at the Terrans for confirmation.

"Also correct," said Aaron. Kyle nodded.

"Excuse me, Professor, but how is that possible?" asked Colette, clearly not comprehending how she could possibly be living in two places at once.

"Well, we haven't existed in a tangible form, but these people know about us just the same. Allow me to demonstrate." She walked over to Aaron's bookshelf and pulled down his copy of the Tales of Symphonia Strategy Guide.

"Why you little- So that's how you got through Shadow's temple so quickly!" exclaimed Kyle.

"Ah…funny story about that…Exit stage right!" he dashed out of the room as a very annoyed Kyle chased him. The group looked on confusedly until Raine snapped her fingers.

"Moving on, these people have created an interactive game that describes our entire journey, although with some degree of customization." The Professor continued.

"For example, you can either keep Zelos in your group and never get Kratos back, or you can get Kratos and kill off Zelos." Said Lloyd, as he peered over Raine's shoulder to read the guidebook.

"Hey! That's not cool, man!" objected Zelos.

"My apologies, but I think Kratos is just more useful. Plus, he's just so much cooler than you are…" said Aaron, as Kyle chased him through the living room again. He soon had two on his tail as Zelos vaulted the couch and joined the chase.

"I'll kill you like you did me!" he yelled. "Man, that sounds weird…"

Raine sighed, and the others sweatdropped. "At any rate, we've been here with Aaron for the past two days, waiting for you to come help us, because Lloyd couldn't access Origin's power to use the Eternal Sword."

Origin looked like he was about to say something, but he settled back into the chair he was currently occupying and did nothing. This didn't escape Kratos, but he just noted the fact and filed it away for later use.

"Now, since you're all here and Origin is with you, we should have no problem getting back to Symphonia. Any questions?" said Raine.

_There is only one flaw in your plan._

Raine looked indignantly at Origin. "And that might be?"

_After reuniting two worlds, a very strenuous task, and dragging ten people across __such a vast distance__, I have not the energy to __return you__. My strength has not been exhausted this much for some time, and I cannot tell you when I will regain enough of my power to return you. I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do at this moment's time._

The faces of the company fell. Once Zelos and Kyle heard the news, they stopped chasing Aaron around and joined the remainder of the group.

"Well, there's only one thing to do now…" said Genis.

"Yeah! Play videogames and hang out at Aaron's house!" yelled Lloyd. He punched the air in joy.

"Yeah, great. Juuuuuuust great," grumbled Aaron, his voice the epitome of sarcasm.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_Later that night_

"This game's winner…Link!" said the SSBM announcer.

"That's no fair! How are you doing that!" complained Lloyd, as Kratos beat him for probably the twentieth time in a row that hour alone. Kratos smirked slightly, only infuriating Lloyd more. "Fess up! You've done this before!"

"Of course. I have practiced this often. I'm surprised you didn't guess it sooner." said Kratos, his face showing a telling lack of surprise.

"How was I supposed to know?" said Lloyd, clueless.

"For a start, there was one of these in the Sylvarant Base. He and Yuan probably played it all the time." Said Kyle.

"You think your son would have inherited some of your intelligence… it's just sad." said Aaron, grinning.

"Why you-"

"I suppose so." Said Kratos, chuckling as Aaron dodged Lloyd's enraged strikes.

"Not you too, Dad!" whined Lloyd.

"Aaron." Said Genis from behind the couch, "Didn't you mention disguising us with some Earth clothes so we don't stick out so much,"

"Ah! Thanks for reminding me!" he dashed off to his room. In about ten minutes, he returned with a stack of clothes. "These should fit you guys…my mom doesn't get rid of anything, so I still have stuff your size, Genis. I hope they work all right. Bathroom's down the hall on the left and you can use my bedroom too."

"Thank you, Aaron." Said Kratos. The teen divided the pile into three stacks and distributed them to the awaiting recipients.

Five minutes later, the transformed trio reemerged. Lloyd was dressed in black wind pants, a navy blue shirt, a red Rossignol jacketand black-and-red Nike's. Genis was wearing a light blue t-shirt, a dark blue vest with white trim, and jeans.

Kratos was clad in black jeans, a purple shirt that said "Why yes, I _am _better than you," and a black jacket with dark purple stripes down each arm. Of course, the swords at their waists kind of ruined the illusion

"You guys look great. You'll fit right in, as soon as you get rid of your swords." said Aaron.

"Are you sure about this?" said Lloyd, "I look goofy in this stuff."

Kyle poked his head into the room. "Trust me Lloyd, it doesn't take Earth clothes to make you look goofy." They all laughed but Lloyd.

"Oh yeah, very funny, guys. Veeeeeeery funny." The twinblader rolled his eyes as Genis rolled around on the floor.

"Why must we be unarmed? Are weapons illegal in this world?" asked Kratos.

"Not really, but you would stick out like a sore thumb, even with Earth clothes." Said Aaron. "Not many people walk around with swords at their hips nowadays."

"I see. Although it pains me to do so, I will leave it if I must." Kratos reverently unclasped his sword-belt and laid it gently on the table. Lloyd tossed the Material Blades onto the couch, slightly less reverently.

"Hey guys, what's up?" said Colette as she walked in. "Oh, wow, you guys look great!"

"Hey, Colette, could you get everyone else so we can get you all earth clothes?" said Aaron.

"Yeah! Sure!" She ran out to get the others.

Soon the entire company was gathered in the living room. All except Origin, that is.

"Where's four-arms?" asked Aaron.

"He went off to wherever Summon Spirits go when they haven't been summoned." Answered Sheena, shrugging.

"Ah, all right. In any case, I've got to go up and get Earth clothes for all of you guys. Kyle, could you please tell the newcomers exactly why they need disguises? Please, use any method you deem necessary."

"Oh Martel no…" said Kratos.

Aaron went upstairs to get clothes. As he reached the top of the stairs, he heard a loud cry of "_Kratty-sama_!" a grunt, and gales of laughter. Chuckling to himself, he entered his sister's room. He looked through her clothes, trying to find something good for each of the females waiting downstairs.

He picked up one garment, and he couldn't help thinking _Wow...sis would kill me if she saw what I was doing right now...__heh__heh__heh__...I hope she doesn't come home for a while...I'd be in so much trouble... _

Just as he finished gathering disguises, his worst fears came true. He heard a car pull up the driveway and his front door open. All color drained from his face as he heard, "Aaron! I'm home!"

* * *

**Well, there you have it. I do feel terrible knowing that this had been on my computer the whole time and I just forgot about it...Gee, I'd better have a look at chapter 6 and make sure that one's actually in need of revising!**

**Ja ne,**

**ZZ **


	6. Misadventures

**I must be some sort of update god lately. I've never done so much work on my writing in one week since I started the original TWOS story. Dang, I hope it lasts!**

**Standard Disclaimers Apply **

* * *

**Two Worlds, One Soul**

(Version 2.0)

_Chapter VI – Misadventures_

* * *

Aaron hid the stack of his sister's clothes under his bed and ran down to face the music. But first, he had to hide a very large group of people very quickly. 

"Hurry up! Everyone, into the basement!" he said in a harsh whisper, opening the oaken door and ushering the Symphonians and Kyle down the stairs. He walked out into the entrance hallway to greet his sister.

"Hey Sam…you certainly are back early. Did something happen?" he asked, covering his fear with a mask of calm. She was supposed to be out with a bunch of friends at the movies. He hadn't planned on her returning at least until ten or eleven o'clock. Especially since he was attempting to outfit a large group of people using the contents of her wardrobe.

"Oh, that. Well, the movie was sold out before we could get tickets, and then their DVD player kinda…exploded…so yeah, we decided to give it up as a lost cause." She shrugged.

"Ah. That's too bad, with the DVD player too..." He said, anxiety twisting up his insides. _I really hope she meant 'exploded' metaphorically..._

"Something wrong, Aaron? You have a weird look on your face," Sam said.

"I just wasn't expecting you until morning, that's all," Aaron said. _I'm glad I threw out the tablecloth that Kratos fried; she might be a little bit mad about that._

"Oh… Well, if you're sure…All right. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go change clothes." She headed upstairs.

"Ah…I wouldn't do that if I were you…" he protested, knowing she would discover her missing clothes.

Sam gave him a quizzical look, but kept on going. Aaron knew he was doomed, so he ran when he had the chance. Quickly going down the basement stairs, he explained his situation to the group. "Okay, as you probably heard, my sister is home a little earlier than I expected, and she's about to find out that I borrowed her clothes to get disguises for you girls, so I'm about to die," he said, shrugging resignedly. "Good thing I haven't actually given them to you yet, she'd kill me even worse if she came in and found you wearing them…at any rate, I'm sure she'll be glad to help as soon as we explain the situation to her, just as long as we don't do anything else to get her angry, or she'll go absolutely psycho."

Zelos went red, and shuffled his feet a little. Nervously, he said "Ah hah hah…funny story about that…"

"AARON! WHAT TH-" came the ringing cry of total outrage from above. Sam stormed down the stairs, face red with sheer rage. The first thing that crossed Aaron's mind was how much she looked like the Professor.

The second was: _God, I'm screwed. _He took off running. Sam was not to be denied, and pursued him with the ferocity only an angry sibling can muster.

"My clothes are missing, and _where the hell is my underwear?!_" she screamed, gaining on him. If skidding to a halt didn't mean his certain death, Aaron would have. He thought frantically. _I didn't touch her underwear; I don't even know where she keeps it. Who would have…_ and instantly, he knew. "Zelos." He muttered darkly.

As he passed the basement door, he heard smacking sounds, Zelos saying "ow" and Sheena attempting to yell at him while remaining quiet. He and the shinobi had obviously reached the same conclusion.

"Aaron! I'm gonna _kill_ you!" Sam shrieked.

"Wait." Said Aaron. He slid to a stop and held out his hands in what he hoped was a sufficiently placating gesture. "I didn't do it, but I know who did. It wasn't me, I swear."

"You expect me to believe that?" said Sam in a very dangerous voice. "More so, do you expect it's going to save you?"

"Yes." Said Aaron succinctly, throwing open the basement door. "Sheena!" he yelled, "Give him here!"

"Coming, Aaron!" came Sheena's voice.

"Oh my god, you have girls over! What exactly is she doing down there? Why are you hiding her?" asked Sam threateningly.

"I don't get what you're…oh _God_! I certainly am _not_!" he said, getting her meaning. "All right, you guys had better come up here…"

Lloyd, Colette, Kratos, Sheena, Genis, Raine, Regal, Presea, Yuan, and Kyle filed out of the door. Zelos was nowhere to be seen. As each member emerged from the stairwell, Sam's eyes got a little bit bigger._Just what kind of party was he throwing, anyways?_

"All right, where's the dirty philanderer?" sighed Aaron.

Sheena glanced around. "Hey! How'd he get away? Gah, I'll go get him" she trudged back down the stairs. There were sounds of searching, fighting, cursing, and a palm striking flesh, but Sheena soon emerged with the pervert slung over her shoulder.

"This is going to be bad, I can just tell." Said Lloyd. He was right. Zelos sighed, and Sheena screamed bloody murder. Apparently, Zelos had nuzzled Sheena's butt with his face. Sheena swung him around and handed his feet to Regal.

"Shake him. Hard." She instructed. He did, and the missing undergarments fell out of his clothes.

"P-p-p-p-u-u-u-u-t-t-t-t-t-t m-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e d-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-w-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n" he stammered, shaking hard in Regal's grasp.

"As you wish." And with that, Regal dropped him.

_Thwack_ "Ouch." He sat up, rubbing his head.

"So, Sam, are you satisfied?" asked Kyle.

"Nope." She walked over and kicked Zelos between the legs.

Raine winced. "That must hurt."

"Cheap...shot," Zelos moaned, clutching his groin and sinking to the floor. His sister was getting to be more like Raine every second, thought Aaron.

"Now where are the rest of my clothes? And speaking of clothes, why the heck are you dressed like that? You look like a Tales of Symphonia cosplay convention… but why are you three wearing my brother's clothes?" said Sam, indicating Lloyd, Genis and Kratos, an expression of confusion on her face.

"Are you suggesting that we're imposters?" demanded Sheena, her arms akimbo and a glare on her face.

"I don't know how else to say this, Sam, but they're…they're the real thing." Kyle said, a 'who knows?' expression on his face.

"Oh. My. God. I suppose the missing clothes are for them?" Sam inquired, glancing at Aaron.

"Yeah…If it's all right with you, could they-" Aaron asked, gesturing to indicate the non-disguised portion of the Company.

"Of course!" said Sam, nodding enthusiastically. Aaron quickly ascended the staircase to his room, and returned bearing an armful of clothes.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_Minutes later_

The girls (Plus Regal, Zelos and Yuan) were changed, and came out to show the rest of the group. Regal was dressed in grey slacks and a black dress shirt. His long blue hair still had the tie in it, and he hadn't removed his shackles.

Sheena had a short purple skirt, a white belt, and a purple top that was as open as her ninja garb. Zelos ogled her unabashedly, and was bashed as a result.

The aforementioned pervert was wearing a hot pink shirt that said "Real Men Wear Pink" on it. He also had black pants with a pink stripe down each leg. Raine was dressed in a white sweater and pale blue pants.

Presea was clad in tan shorts and a pale grey top. Her pink hair remained in the same style as ever. Colette had on a white shirt that said "I'm an Angel" with a halo around the words, and also a short white-and-blue skirt.

Finally, Yuan appeared from the bedroom. He was wearing ripped jeans, a white t-shirt, and a leather jacket.

And because it was never mentioned before, Aaron was wearing dark blue jeans, a forest green t-shirt, an emerald-green and white jacket, and white sneakers. He had brown hair, and grey-green eyes framed by rimless glasses.

Kyle had on a red 'Rurouni Kenshin' t-shirt, a grey hoodie, and black sweatpants. His long red hair was tied back into a ponytail that reached the middle of his back.

Sam had a blue tank top, white shorts, and one of those white sweater-jacket things, whatever the hell you call them. She had brown hair that came down about to the bottom of her ears.

"Ok, you're almost perfect. There's only one small problem," said Aaron.

"What is wrong with this?" asked Presea.

"You all still have your weapons. In our world, no one carries around swords and such." Said Kyle.

"Do I have to?" said Sheena, "Going weaponless…it makes me feel almost naked…don't even _think_ about it, Zelos" She did, however, remove her cards from her pocket and set them with her ninja clothes on the couch.

"If I must, then I can go without." Said Regal, unbuckling the greaves.

"Shackles too, Regal, unless you want the police to arrest you for breaking out of prison," added Aaron.

"I know you made the vow not to remove them, but now that the world is safe your promise to Alicia is complete," supplied Presea, when Regal hesitated.

"I suppose you are correct…Though it will be very odd without them on after these years." Nevertheless, he removed a key from around his neck and unclasped them, placing them on the floor with his greaves.

Raine set down her staff, Colette took out her chakrams, and Presea dropped her axe. Finally, Zelos laid down his sword, and Yuan leaned his two-bladed weapon against the wall.

"Hey, Yuan." Said Aaron, "I've always wondered…where the heck do you keep that, anyways? You don't have a sheath or even a holster…and you never have it visible, you just pull it out of thin air. Where are you hiding it?"

"I keep it in something similar to a wing pack, called a Bladecase. Botta and I modified a couple of wingpacks to store our swords, so we can wield larger weapons without their bulk impeding normal movement." Yuan replied.

"Yuan, how many weapons can be kept in a Bladecase?" asked Kratos.

"I suppose that I could fit all of ours easily, seeing as it was originally designed to hold planes."

"Well, why don't you take them all with you, so we can have them if we need them?" asked Regal.

"Now why didn't I think of that?" asked Lloyd.

"Because you're an idiot!" cackled Genis, as he dodged a furious Lloyd.

"Don't make fun of him, Genis," reprimanded Colette.

"It seems Lloyd needs his girlfriend to defend him," murmured Presea.

Lloyd and Colette blushed furiously, suddenly becoming very interested in the floor at their feet.

"…" Kratos said.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_That Evening_

"Wow, it's boring around here." Complained Lloyd after two hours of inactivity.

"You get bored so easily, Lloyd," said Aaron, not even glancing up from his book.

"I do not!" said Lloyd indignantly.

"Lloyd has a point…we can't just sit around until Origin gets his power back, so why don't we do something?" said Sheena, from her meditative position on the living room floor.

"Yeah! What do you guys do for fun, anyways?" asked Zelos.

"We play video games, watch TV, and go to the mall, stuff like that." Said Sam, as she brandished her Wiimote at the TV screen.

"Umm, what's a mall?" asked Colette.

"A place to hang out, get something to eat, go shopping…things like that." Kyle shrugged, then turned back to Super Mario Galaxy.

"Oooh! Shopping!" squealed Colette, displaying the typical teenage girl's reaction to the subject. Lloyd rolled his eyes.

"Sounds fine to me." said Sam. She took aim and stunned an enemy. With a quick flourish of the Wiimote, Kyle sent it flying offscreen.

"I'm not sure it's such a good idea, guys." Said Aaron.

"Why not?" asked Raine.

"Fangirls. They hang out in droves in malls."

"…" said Kratos. He had to force himself not to flinch at the mere memory.

"Ah, we've fought off Abyssion, Mithos, all five Grand Cardinals, and more monsters than anyone can count…" began Lloyd.

"3,572 creature encounters." Stated Presea, without looking up from where she and Genis were engaged in a fierce game of Stratego. She was winning.

"… Wow, leave it to her to know exactly how many monsters we've fought." Remarked Zelos.

"Anyways, we should be just fine. But please, if you are discovered, don't go berserk on them and use techs or anything…we don't want anyone hurt." Said Aaron.

"Can they even use techs to begin with? I really don't think there's a Giant Kharlan Tree around here anywhere, so I don't see how they could." Said Kyle.

"But didn't Kratos use Hell Pyre yesterday?" asked Lloyd.

"Are you guys sure there's no Mana Tree? You're world is just flooded with mana! It's like you've never used any of it!" exclaimed Genis. He spread his arms wide to indicate the vastness of the mana he felt.

"Genis, on Earth, there is no Magitechnology, and no one knows magic."

"…" said everyone.

"No magic? Are you sure?" said Sheena. She could barely comprehend it.

"None." Replied Sam.

"How do you manage?" asked Zelos. He, who had relied on the comforts of Magitechnology his entire life, was even more incredulous than Sheena.

"We have other means. Our medical technology is very advanced, for example." Said Aaron.

"Really? Like what? Please, tell me more!" Raine instantly went into Ruin-Mode at the mention of new technology.

"Settle down, Raine...this is a house, not a hospital...and I'm sure they wouldn't let you disassemble their equipment anyways." said Kyle. Raine's face fell.

"Can we please go to the mall now?" Asked Colette.

"Sure, sure. Just don't say I didn't warn you…" said Aaron, as the company went outside.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

The group split between the cars belonging to Aaron and Sam, while Kyle got back onto his motorcycle. The drive was short, but tensions were high as they entered 'enemy territory'. It didn't help that Raine was obsessing over the mechanics of the automobiles as well.

"Finally, we're here." Aaron breathed a sigh of relief as they pulled in. They gathered together in a large group before entering.

"Ok, two rules. One – girls/women stay with Sam, boys/men with me and Kyle." Said Aaron.

"Kyle and I, Aaron. Didn't you ever learn grammar? Honestly!" said Raine.

A 'vein pulse' icon appeared over Aaron's head, but he continued on. "The other rule – none of you will use your real names. If a fangirl happens to be in earshot and somebody says the name Kratos, well…I don't think I need to say what will happen to poor Kratos."

"…" said Kratos, sweatdropping.

"Cool! We get alter egos!" said Lloyd excitedly. He was nearly bouncing in place.

"Aliases would be a more proper term" said Regal.

"Actually,_ you_ don't, Lloyd." said Kyle, pointing at him. "You've got a pretty normal name, it won't attract suspicion."

"Aww, man…"

"Lessee, Kratos will Kevin, Colette will be Chelsea, Genis will be Greg, Regal will be Ryan, Raine will be Rachel, Zelos can be Zach, Presea can be Priscilla, Sheena can be Sarah, and finally, Yuan can be…uh… what the hell can we call Yuan? I can't think of anything else that starts with "y"." said Aaron.

"Does it have to?" said Raine.

"I suppose not... Evan, perhaps?" said Kyle.

"Oh, what the hell?" said Yuan, shrugging indifferently.

"Lets go!" said the annoyingly irrepressible Chelsea.

An so, they ventured into the mall, the girl's to go look at clothes, (and probably blow Sam's credit card) and the boys left to go look at videogames and such.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_With the Boys_

"Hey, Aaron? Can I borrow some money? Gen- , er, Greg wants to buy this book and the guy at the counter won't take Gald." Said Lloyd.

"Of course he won't take Gald, you nincompoop! Would you take money from me if I paid you in dollars?" said Aaron. He sighed, "Here Lloyd, let me handle it." He went and bought "Greg" his book, 100 Archaological Wonders of the World.

"For Rachel, right?" asked Kyle.

"What? Oh, of course." Said Genis.

"Who's Rachel? Your girlfriend?" asked the man at the counter.

Genis made a face. "Martel, no! She's my sister!"

Kyle sighed. This was going to be the death of them, he was certain of it. One look at Aaron told him he had reached the same thought. Lucky for them, Genis got off with an odd look from the cashier, but nothing more.

No one noticed that sinister eyes were watching them. _Lloyd? Gald? Martel? Guys that look and talk just like…Oh god, could it really be them! I must tell the others!_ With that, the watcher slipped away into the crowd.

"Hmmm…?" murmured Kratos. He had felt the eyes, and he was sure he had just saw a t-shirt with his face on it disappear into the mass of people._Oh Martel, no… please don't let this be what I think it might be…_

"Aaron." He said.

"Yes? What is it?"

"I think we're being watched. I would advise you and the others to be on your guard."

"I take your point." And so they continued to walk around, but they were aware of several pairs of eyes following them and a building sense of foreboding and doom.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_With the Girls_

The female component of the company emerged from some random designer clothes store, all laden down with bags of purchases and Sam's credit card significantly reduced.

"Oh my… I never knew that shopping could be so much fun!" exclaimed Raine, laughing.

"I know, it's great to get something different than my old shinobi outfit, that's all I could wear back in Mizuho," said Sheena.

Sam smacked her forehead. "Sarah, be careful! You don't want people to hear you talking like that, do you?"

"Who, fangirls? They'd have to be lesbian to go after me. Yeesh." Said Sheena.

"What's lesbian mean?" asked Colette, ever the innocent.

"Ugh, never mind, Colette." said Raine. _That_ was a discussion she intended to put off as long as possible.

"Sheena, Aaron informed us that there are male counterparts to these 'fangirls'." Said Presea.

"Uh, oh. Not good." Said Sheena shuddering.

"It'll be all right as long as you watch what you say." Said Sam reassuringly.

Little did they know it was already too late.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_Back with the Boys_

The company was making its way back to the entrance to meet with the girls, dodging comments and weird looks about strange hair colors when Kratos and Yuan heard the most terrifying sentence possible.

"Quick! I saw Kratty-sama and Yuie-sama! The real ones! And they went this way!" They both looked at each other in absolute horror.

"Aaron, I suggest we drop all pretenses and run for our lives." Said Yuan, fearfully glancing over his shoulder.

"Don't tell me-" said Lloyd.

"We've been found out. The fangirls are coming." Said Kyle.

"I told you not to tell me!" yelled Lloyd.

They heard the sound of pounding feet and "Kratty-sama!" from behind them, and took off at a full-out run.

**XXXxxx.xxXxx.xxxXXX**

_Once again with the Girls_

Presea cocked her head. "There seems to be a commotion."

"Yeah, something about someone named "Kratty-sama" and "Yuie-sama" whoever they are." Said Colette, clueless as ever.

Sheena blanched. "Kratty-sama? Isn't that what Kyle said when he…Oh gods, I think we've got trouble!"

Just then, the male half of the group ran by at full sprint. Genis yelled over his shoulder,

"Comeonthefangirlsaregonnagetusanyminuteandifyouwaitmuchlongerthey'llgetyoutoo!"

Although it took them a second to process Genis' words, the men were soon joined by their better halves as the screaming horde of fangirls (and boys) came into sight. All of them had clothes with Tales characters on them, and were yelling at the top of their lungs to their favorite character.

"We would do well to find an exit soon, before…" began Regal.

Almost in response to his words, another horde came around the corner and rushed at them from the other direction.

"-we become surrounded." He finished.

"Genis! Get on my back!" yelled Lloyd. Genis jumped on without question. Lloyd flared his wings and ascended to the glass ceiling. He picked up speed, and punched straight through.

"I've got you, Sheena!" said Colette, grasping the summoner around the waist and airlifting her out of the imminent combat zone.

Unfortunately, the sight of the angel wings only whipped the fangroup into an even greater frenzy. They dashed over and threw themselves atop poor Kratos and Yuan.

"Dad! No!" Lloyd tucked his wings against his body and plummeted down as Zelos ascended with Raine. Meanwhile, Aaron and Kyle tried to pull the rabid fangirls off of poor Yuan.

All that could be seen of Kratos was a single gloved hand reaching toward the sky, slowly sinking deeper and deeper into the throng. Lloyd grasped his hand and began to pull upward. There was a flash of blue, and soon the pair broke free and hovered out of reach.

"Come on, we've got to help Regal!" exclaimed Lloyd. He pointed to the blue-haired fighter, cornered against the wall by several fangirls. Kratos swooped down to help him, and soon they reached the safety of the roof. By this time, Kyle and Sam had been airlifted, but Aaron was still neck-deep in the sea of crazed Yuan fans. At that moment, the Renegade burst from the crowd, grabbed Aaron's outstretched hand, and the final members made it out of the death zone.

"I have to say, that was the most horrible thing that ever happened to me." Said Yuan. No one disagreed.

"They weren't even after me, but it was horrible nonetheless," said Aaron.

"All right…let's go home. We'll need plenty of rest after that little escapade." Said Raine.

"Amen to that, sis." Said Genis.

They decided to avoid the risk of returning to ground level, so they left their cars in the parking lot while Sylph flew them home. (The non-flight-enabled among them, at least.) They were completely unaware that unfriendly eyes were still watching them.

"Not long now. Not long until I will have my reckoning…my revenge." The figure threw back its head and laughed, the sound dark and threatening in the night.

* * *

**Well, I'm glad I fixed that intro sequence...don't know what I was smoking for the original...Anyhoo, keep your eyes peeled for my next update! Coming soon I hope, 'cause I'm on a roll!**

** Ja ne,**

**ZZ **


	7. Enemies

**Unfortunately, my muse has only lasted for about two paragraphs of D&L…I guess I'll finish this up first, and then see how it goes from there…Terry Brooks had it right in his autobiography. It really does pay to plan your story out beyond the opening and a couple of super-cool plot twists near the end.**

**Ah, well. Here's what I have now, at any rate.**

**Standard Disclaimers Apply**

* * *

**Two Worlds, One Soul**

(Version 2.0)

_Chapter VII – Enemies_

* * *

The company flew homeward under a canopy of stars, the sickle moon providing a soft silver glow to illuminate the way. The darkness was absolute, and for that, the company thanked Shadow profusely. The night air was pleasantly warm, and they enjoyed the calm respite after the fangirl attack. They were still wary, as anyone who happened to glance upwards had a chance of seeing five people with iridescent wings in the sky above. Hopefully, the black night would hide the silhouettes of the others, who flew with no visible method of support at all.

Aaron and Kyle would learn later that there had been several sightings of UFO's in their town that night.

As they flew, Kratos stared at the stars, deep in thought.

_The stars are so different here…and yet they are the same. They continue to watch humanity, their lives spanning billions of years, observing all, but remaining remote and __uninvolved__. So similar to I, cursed to near-infinite existence, so far removed from those around me. So often I did not act, stayed so remote, I did nothing when __action should have been taken._

He shut his eyes as he glided, lost in his private reverie. _I should not have stayed passive __and let Yggdrasil move unopposed…instead, I watched the world plunge into chaos__. I should have acted against __Kvar __earlier__...foreseen an attack, and instead…__I lost my wife. I should have dove after Lloyd…instead, I lost him for sixteen years. _The Seraph shook his head, as if to shake out the thoughts that intruded upon his composure.

_Even before then…Perhaps I could have saved even _him_, had I acted more quickly… What? _Kratos looked up from his thoughts, distracted by a strange feeling in his gut._It couldn't be…I almost thought I sensed him…Orois… could he have survived?_ He flew up a little higher, searching with angelic vision._No…I must be imagining things…he couldn't have survived the explosion …there's no way in heaven or hell that anyone could have lived…_

He shook his head again, banishing such delusions from his head. He put it out of his mind and resumed his normal flight path. From the shadows of the trees beneath, a man clad entirely in black chuckled darkly. He moved swiftly, darting from shadow to shadow as he followed Kratos.

_Heh__ heh __heh__…poor little Kratos…Time has made you weaker. "Blame your fate," you used to say. Fate, that doomed your enemies while you remained unscathed. Well, Kratos, your days of impunity are at a close. You destroyed my life, you stole everything that had meaning from me, and now your precious fate will now be your death. If Heaven will not deliver punishment, then we on Earth shall take punishment into our own hands. __Prepare __yourself,__ little Kratos…the time has come. Prepare yourself…__I have returned, and I will not be denied my revenge._

The black-cloaked man threw back his head and laughed. Then he vanished into the shadows he was so much a part of, like he had never existed at all.

* * *

_Back at Aaron's house_

"Hey…Dad." Said Lloyd.

"Yes, Lloyd?" asked Kratos, as father and son took seats in Aaron's den. Lloyd stared at Kratos with unusual seriousness.

"You looked like you were thinking really deeply about something, and now you've got this gloom around you…even more than normal, that is." A small smile appeared on his lips despite the serious expression in his eyes.

Kratos chuckled dryly at his son's little joke. "I was just remembering a little bit of my past."

Lloyd stared at him a little longer. "Humph." He said, not breaking eye contact.

Kratos sighed. It appeared his son was not to be dissuaded. "There was a time, long before I met Anna, and shortly before Martel's death, that Yuan, Mithos, Martel and I had an encounter with a man named Orois."

Lloyd's eyes widened. "You mean…_the_ Orois? The fabled assassin of the Kharlan war that was second to none in single combat?" Kratos was surprised that Lloyd had remembered such an obscure point of ancient history, but then he realized that anyone as famous a fighter would have piqued Lloyd's interest.

"Yes, the very one. We were mopping up pockets of resistance that didn't want to stop the battles. They were so intent on destroying their enemy that they had to be entirely wiped out. Orois was the leader of a very powerful faction of them. But this faction was different. They didn't want to kill the Sylvaranti just because they were Sylvaranti, for them it was personal. You see, the members of his faction, the Brotherhood of the Burning Moon, were all individuals who had lost family or friends to the Sylvarant army."

Lloyd was shocked. "And what does that have to do with you?"

"I was the reason he began that Brotherhood."

"What? How?" Lloyd looked incredulously at his father.

"Yes, do tell!" said another voice behind Kratos. Kratos jumped in his seat, startled, and fell out of the chair. He looked up, straight into the Ruin-Mode-crazed eyes of Raine. Behind her was the entire remainder of the company, which had somehow snuck up behind him.

"Well, at least it saves me the trouble of telling it twice." Commented Kratos dryly, immediately regaining his composure and settling back into the chair.

"Please, Mr. Kratos. Continue your story." Said Colette.

"All right, all right." He said. "Some years before, during the war, our little company was fighting in a small town near where Palmacosta is today. We had been ambushed, and were fighting for our very lives. We knew the only way to escape was for us to unleash the full measure of our magic." He paused. "As much as we hated to do so, we had no other options…

* * *

_The ones who would be called the four seraphim stood huddled together inside a ring of hostility. They knew there was only one way out, and they didn't like it._

"_We have no choice!" yelled Kratos over the noise of the fray. He parried the thrust of an armored warrior, and his riposte took the man's life._

"_We can't hurt any innocent__-" cried Martel, staff poised to bash in the next head that presented itself._

"_We'll just have to aim carefully, then! If we don't we'll be killed!__" shouted Yuan__ barely avoiding__ an enraged mercenary._

_The four focused their powers, and __as one unleashed their strongest spells._

"_Judgment!" roared Kratos._

"_Indignation!" shouted Yuan._

"_Holy Lance!" cried Martel._

"_Prism Sword!" yelled Mithos._

_But as soon as the spells were loosed, the four knew something was about to go horribly wrong. A wave of mana swept across the battlefield, mana that gripped the new spells and twisted them beyond anything their casters intended. Swords and lances composed of pure light mana rained down on the mercenaries, as gigantic lightning bolts blew massive holes in the enemy ranks. But then, all hell broke loose. Suddenly, the kill radius of the spells increased drastically, and the village surrounding them fell under attack. Men, women, and children fleeing for their lives were impaled by the falling blades, and houses were blown apart by Indignation's lightning. As they watched, horror-stricken, a man tried to shield his wife from a lance, only to have both of them impaled upon its shaft. Two teenagers fled __from the carnage, helping each other past burning wreckage. The first looked upwards, __then__ shoved his brother to the side as he was struck by a bolt of lighting and incinerated. Martel sobbed against Yuan as the second boy loosed a terrible cry of anguish…it was the last thing they saw before the Light of Judgment came down in a gigantic column, obliterating everything in a burst of white that slowly faded to blackness…_

* * *

"Whoa…" said Lloyd. He had adequately summarized the feelings of the Company, all of whom were astounded to learn of the terrible scene.

"What could possibly have caused the spells to go so terribly awry?" murmured Raine.

"None of us knew." stated Kratos, shaking his head resignedly. Whatever had possessed him to dredge up these memories now was beyond him, but it was far too late to stop their retelling.

"Where does Orois come into this?" asked Sheena.

"That boy, the one whose brother sacrificed himself to save, was Orois." said Kratos.

"Oh…" said Colette, concern filling her soft voice, "How horrible…"

"I later learned that Orois, after discovering our identities, entered a rogue military group, where he learned to fight. After which, he began his own division, with the goal of hunting us down for revenge."

"Then what?" asked Zelos.

* * *

_Kratos walked silently and alone along the path of a forest no one in the company recognized. __He came upon a fork in the road, o__ne path lead __off into the distance and__ identical to the one he had been traveling for some time. The other __diverged __into a clearing, where a town had sprung up around a mercenary fort. Several of the __mercs__ were putting up posters with badly drawn portrait scrawled across its face. Kratos stared hard at it for several moments before recognizing it as his own._

"_Do I really look that bad?" muttered Kratos._

"_Now hear this!" cried a voice, startling Kratos from his criticism of the (horrible) artist._

_Kratos ducked into the shelter of the trees. On silent feet, he crept carefully around the outskirts until he had a safe perch in the top of a giant maple. From this height, he wa__s safe from prying eyes__ and his superior hearing allowed him to hear everything that was going on._

"_Listen, all!" shouted the __young __man, waving a poorly drawn poster, "This man is a danger to us all! He __and his companions __are__ a band of vile criminals, whose only goal is to ruin us! They wish to rob us of our rightful chance to avenge our fallen families against the hated __Sylvaranti__. They __kill all who resist their insidious promises of __peace,__ promises we know can never come to be! They have annihilated entire towns for the sake of their goals, and will not hesitate to do so again. They must be brought to justice! For righteousness! For honor! __FOR TETHE'ALLA!__"_

_As the crowd cheered, Kratos silently seethed. __How dare this man decry all their efforts at peace in such a manner? No one could possibly be more sorrowful for that disaster than they who caused it. __His hand clenched tightly at the sword hilt on his hip, shaking in anger._ "_I will not stand for this!" he __seethed__, beginning to rise from the tree__. He had every intention of marching straight up to that posturing, arrogant little bastard and giving him a good, hard- He stopped himself.__ "That would be playing right into his trap__. It does me no good to charge in recklessly. I will make my peace with him later, when there can be no interruptions__"__ After giving one last look at the __mercenary fort, he turned and walked away. He passed a signpost at the edge of the clearing bearing another copy of the crude imitation of his face, and with a flick of his wrist it burst into flames. He disappeared down the trail as the poster crumbled into ash and blew away._

* * *

"Heh, it looks like bad wanted posters run in the family." Said Genis, recalling the Desians from Triet. Lloyd snorted. How dare they call that a portrait?

"So…what became of Orois? The legends say he was killed in a great explosion when his fortress was destroyed. Is that correct?" asked Regal.

"It is." Said Kratos.

"Did this result from your actions?" asked Presea.

"Indeed... I only regret that there was never an opportunity to make amends." Said Kratos.

"I'm sure you would have been able to work things out!" Colette smiled and patted Kratos on the shoulder reassuringly.

"Thank you, Chosen One, but Orois was far too set on revenge to reconcile…I discovered this the hard way." He gently removed her hand from his shoulder and clasped his hands together, resting his chin on them. "I tried to explain that his brother's death was not our intention. I thought that, if I expressed my sorrow truly to him, I could make him understand this. By that time, all of us were sick of the killing, sick of the war, and we hoped for a peaceful resolution. But he refused to listen to me, and I was forced to fight…"

"And the result was Orois' death?" asked Raine.

"I am worried that he didn't die…" murmured Kratos, almost inaudibly.

"What was that?" asked Lloyd.

"No…nothing. At the fortress…" said Kratos.

* * *

"_Are you sure about this, Kratos?" asked Yuan.__ The pair stood atop a ridge, hidden among a copse of pine trees._

"_It is the only way. Besides, __he holds me solely responsible__. If you are with me, you are only endangering yourself."_

"_The battles are hard enough with__ four of us. We wouldn't survive without you. __So like it or not, __we're doing this together__."__ Yuan crossed his arms over his chest, in what was to become his trademark posture._

"_Out of the question."__Kratos' voice held a tone of finality, but Yuan brushed it aside._

_"I_ am _going, Kratos." _

"_This isn't negotiable. I will not allow you to." retorted the auburn-haired angel.__ Why was Yuan doing this? He was only trying to protect him._

"_Oh? Won't ALLOW me to go? Since when do you have the authority to-"__ Yuan's incensed reply was abruptly cut off by an extremely unorthodox maneuver._

_ "I'm sorry, Yuan." __Kratos murmured__. Before Yuan __had any time to react__, Kratos lunged in, grabbed the hem of Yuan's cape, and brought it down over his head. Yuan's yells of indignity were smothered as Kratos tucked the fabric around his head again and tied it with the most complex knot he knew. He took off immediately towards the castle, leaving a furious and confused companion staggering in circles wondering what the hell had__ just__ happened._

"_That should __hold__ him long enough to get to the fortress." __Thought Kratos, __as he dashed __through__ the darkening twilight_ _He crested the hill, and found what he was searching for. Orois' fortress, resembling the Desian Ranches that would come about in later years, was built partially into the side of __a__ mountain. __Mercenaries bearing Orois' sigil of a flame-cloaked moon patrolled the walls, and his sharp vision spotted figures skulking in the shadows of the surrounding landscape. Immediately he knew that approach from the ground would be impossible. 'When the ground is useless, use the sky,' he thought, and spread his wings. He put forth the barest minimum of __mana,__ just enough to get him airborne without the bright glow that usually accompanied them._

_ Kratos __cli__mbed rapidly __and then__ paused, a__l__ign__ing himself with a flat space near the top of the base. __Bracing himself,__ he __dissolved__ his wings. __Immediately, he began to drop like a stone tossed from Heaven. __As the wind screamed by him like a banshee's howling song, he __oriented__ himself so he was falling __headfirst.__ At precisely the right moment, he flared his azure wings__ again__ and spread his arms and legs to slow his descent.__ Just before impact, he turned a somersault and touched down soundlessly on the roof__, his descent far to fast for any guard to notice. Without looking back, he entered the highest chamber. He couldn't, however, shake the feeling that his entry had been far too easy…_

_It appeared his suspicions were accurate. As soon as he set foot inside, he heard the telltale "snick" of a trap being released, and threw himself forward in a roll. He heard the deadly darts whistle past inched behind him, and when they passed, he stood. In hindsight,__this was__ a big mistake._

_Snick._

_Thwap_

_Kratos fell to his knees, his hand immediately going to the dart embedded in his right shoulder. Instantly, he felt the cold fire of a toxin flood his body. He struggled to his feet, fighting the __paralyzation__ threatening to immobilize him._

"_Ah, how easily the mighty fall__." __Said a cold voice._

"_Wh__- Where are you? Show…yourself!" Kratos struggled to speak._

_His enemy stepped from the shadows. Clad in a silver-lined black cloak and silver-embossed black leather armor, Orois emerged from behind a pillar. His face could not be seen, hidden by a silver-edged black cowl._

"_Now, Kratos, you shall face my judgment…" Had the situation not been so dire, Kratos might have appreciated the irony of Orois' choice of __words.__ As it was, __though, __he was preoccupied as Orois__ drew a pair of glittering silver daggers from concealed sheaths. Cast in the shape of wings, they looked as deadly as they were beautiful._

"_Listen to me…I did not…come to…fight…"__ grunted Kratos, barely staying upright._

"_But fight you must. I will not suffer a murderer such as you to live!__" said Orois, lunging. The __daggers flashed in the moonlight__ as he slashed with blinding speed. _

_Kratos barely managed to get his sword out in time to deflect them away. Orois spun adeptly, gracefully leaping and spinning as his daggers formed a cage of flashing silver around him. He charged again. __Kratos sidestepped, and __brought his blade back in a feeble attempt to deflect Orois' blows.__"I did not intend for the destruction…something went wrong with our magic! We wished for no innocent deaths!" He tried to disarm the man so he could speak, but his attack was halted with contemptous ease. _

_"Lies!"__ Cried Orois, "Die, you monster!" The assassin__ seemed to be in three places at once, and Kratos' poison-numbed body could barely follow. __Orois' blades sliced him from all angles, cutting long, shallow wounds in Kratos' arms, legs, chest and back._

'_He's killing me by inches…and there's nothing I can do.' He thought. At that point, the poison finally took its toll, and he collapsed, unable to move. Orois came over and kicked him in the ribs, sending __him rolling__ against the wall. Orois grasped a fistful of Kratos' cape and dragged him upright._

"_Now die, you pathetic excuse for a man, and suffer as my brother did!" as the silver point arced unflinchingly downward, there was a sudden sound of steel clanging on __steel__, and a whistling noise as something flew through the air. _

_Orois gasped, clutched his side, and let Kratos slip to the ground. Kratos saw Yuan standing over them with one of Orois' darts in his hand__, his other holding off Orois' dagger with a short blade of his own. _

"_I've given him a taste of his own medicine. Come on, old friend…let's go."_

"_No…wait…we cannot leave him. __He has lost himself to vengeance. He will continue to spread death…and kill thousands more.__ I cannot allow that.__"_

"_But if you do that, it will make you just as he says! __A murderer!"_

"_Is the life…of one…truly worth more than the life of many?" He had no idea how much those words would come back to bite him in the butt later._

"_Fine.__ Here, let me help you." __Yuan braced Kratos against __himself,__ and the two men clasped each other's forearms.__ Sapphire and amethyst light bathed the room as the Seraphim spread their wings. With one voice, they chanted._

"_Gods above__… __Bathe the wicked in your divine light and cast them to oblivion! __SERAPH JUDGEMENT!"_

_Hundreds of beams of powerful light blasted down from the heavens, striking Orois' mercenaries and shredding the fort's walls. Strangely, the main tower was left untouched._

_ Kratos and Yuan both felt a great surge of mana, and knew something was going terribly wrong once again. __Hauling Kratos to the door, Yuan__ shouted "We have to get out of here!"__ T__hey quickly moved __onto__ the balcony where Kratos landed. Looking up, they__ saw lightning sparking in the sky above the fortress__ and felt mana gathering in an amount they had never witnessed before. __Leaping into the air,__ they flew as swiftly as they could to the safety of a nearby hill. _

_Just as they touched down, the heavens opened and unleashed the Light of Judgment in a force that they never imagined possible._

_ It completely blinded them, and the resounding shockwave knocked them back twenty feet. When they regained conscio__usness, they made the slow climb__ to the top.__ What they saw was beyond description. There was nothing left of the base or the mountain it was built into except a hundred-foot deep crater at least three hundred __yards__ wide. Not even a scrap of metal remained, only smoke, fire, and death._

* * *

The company was too stunned to respond for several minutes.

"Did Orois survive?" asked Sam.

"No. There was absolutely no way anyone could have survived that blast." Said Kratos. His voice was firm, but his mind was less certain. It might have been his imagination, but he was sensing the mana signature again, and this time he swore it was getting closer.

"Why would this happen? Surely you did not summon that much power willingly…or with such an intention." Said Regal solemnly.

"No, of course not." Said Yuan, speaking for the first time that evening, "But we reached the conclusion that it was Orois' doing."

"What? You mean he blew himself up? That's crazy!" exclaimed Lloyd.

"Not in the slightest. We believe that his body produced an aura of sorts that can amplify magic to almost obscene proportions. This would also explain why our magic reacted as it did when his brother was killed."

"Astounding!" exclaimed Raine. "It's a pity he was annihilated, I would have loved to examine him… Amplify magic, how amazing!" her eyes glowing with _extrascholastic curiosity_, she wandered off, muttering about things like "mana catalytic properties" and "esoteric intensification dynamic". Lloyd kneaded his head, the magitechnological terminology giving him a headache. Out of the blue, Yuan chuckled.

"Why is this amusing?" asked Kratos. He saw nothing funny about the entire scenario.

"Heh…I _told_ you you'd need my help!" said Yuan.

"I did not."

"You did too!"

"Absurd."

"Listen, you can take your _absurd_ and shove it-"

The company burst out laughing at the sudden display of immaturity, especially from their most stoic and severe members. It continued for several minutes, and everyone was glad for the respite from the gloomy topic. A few minutes later, they resumed the conversation.

"So…what made you start thinking about Orois?" asked Sam

"…I thought I sensed him as we were flying here…but that's impossible."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, little Kratos…" said a cold voice. As all color drained from the faces of the Seraphim, there was a crash and the musical sound of falling glass as the window shattered. To Kratos' horror, a chillingly familiar sound was heard over the chaos.

_Snick._

* * *

**My main goal of this rewrite was threefold. One, I wanted to make the introspection in the beginning flow better. Two, I wanted to rework the flow and wording of the flashbacks. And three, I wanted to clarify and refine both the motivations of Orois and Kratos. It is much better explained this time, and the motivations are much clearer now, I think. It was entirely too coincidental before, now there's a real reasoning behind it. God, I was such an amateur when I wrote this originally…I hope you enjoy it now. **

**Ja**** ne, (Review!)**

**ZZ**


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